Society Blog
How to: Survive University - The Literature Society's Guide
The Don’ts
1. Don’t leave your work until the night before
2. Don’t believe that the academic article that the seminar requires you to read is easy and therefore you plan to read it on the way to that very seminar
3. Don’t sit back in group presentations, take the lead and make sure the work gets done
4. Don’t spend all of your student finance in one go, you do actually have bills to pay
5. Don’t live in your overdraft, that’s not what it’s there for and you have to pay it back
6. Don’t get drunk when you know you have a 9am the next day
7. Don’t panic over first year, just try and get used to University life, after all it doesn’t even count
8. Don’t forget that you actually have to pass your advantage module, it not something you can ignore
9. Don’t think your invincible, always be safe while on a night out or walking alone
10. Don’t forget to have fun it’ll make life a lot better
The Dos
1. Do read all the course books over summer
2. Do conduct any needed research over summer (aka Dissertation)
3. Do make contributions in seminars and when appropriate in lectures, making your face known is a major bonus
4. Do plan essays before starting to write it, it will help as you know that everything you’re going to say makes sense
5. Do actually attend, remember you’re paying for this
6. Do make a money plan and then you know how much money is actually ‘free’ to spend on fun things
7. Do remember to make friends, it’s important to have others to talk to and they know what you’re going through
8. Do pick a course you actually enjoy, you’ll be doing it for a while
9. Do take a packed lunch and a bottle of water to University, it’s ridiculously easy to overspend
10. Do take legible notes during lecture, remember you’re the one that needs to revise from them
Coventry University Literature Society's first lecture...
RECENT POSTS
On Tuesday 8 March, former Coventry University student Dan Bowen delivered a fantastic lecture entitled ''You will remove these restraints': The Violence of Bureaucracy in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens''. Exploring Suvin's theory of cognitive estrangement, Dan explored the notions of democracy and bureaucracy within the latest instalment of the Star Wars saga. Gathering interest from staff and students across the faculty, Dan's talk was a prime example of how literary theory is readily applicable to modern media and culture.
The lecture was particularly engaging and useful for third year English students currently enorlled on the 'Sci-fi and speculative fiction' module and those considering it in their future studies.
We hope this will be the first of many guest lectures hosted by the Literature Society!
Dan is currently studying his MA in Contemporary Literature, Culture and Theory at King's College London
Top 4 Reading Resolutions for 2016
By Angela
Read more books already on the bookshelf:
Those books that have been resting on the shelf
for months and months, slowly collecting speckles of dust – they need to be read this year. Maybe not all of them if you’re a book hoarder like me but definitely a good handful.
Make time for reading every day:
Even if it’s just a chapter before bed or a few pages on a sporadic bus journey, reading every day is good for the mind! For me personally, reading helps me unwind and relax after a stressful day out. It’s a time where I can put my feet up, get a cup of tea and keep my eyes off social media.
Keep track of what you read:
A good way to do this is through websites like goodreads, designed to keep track of what you read and to see what others are reading! You can even write reviews on there and give books a star rating. The great thing about goodreads is that you can keep a record of what you’ve read, what you’re currently reading and that never-ending TBR list that we all have.
Be open to different genres:
Everyone has a soft spot for a particular genre, a genre that they steer towards when entering a bookshelf, whether it’s YA fiction, classics or murder mysteries. Branching out is important; in most cases people discover things they didn’t think they’d like or enjoy and end up really enjoying the change of perspective!
New Year, New You
By Amy
With every year that we welcome there is always a ‘New Year’s trend’, whether that’s getting those last minute Christmas clearance items or reading a book that makes you able to make it through January without being too depressed at the dullness of the month.
And like any other year there is once again a trend quickly gaining popularity, the trend of ‘New Year, New You’! This catch all title has allowed for the typical tradition of New Year’s revolutions to evolve into books that act as a guide for how to welcome the New Year properly.
1. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying: The Japanese Art
As is often the way after Christmas, the living spaces are
cluttered and disorganised. Marie Kondo’s aim is to create a
method to declutter the physical space but also allowing for
the same principles to be applied to your mind and
emotional wellbeing. Therefore it allows you to start the New
Year with a clean room and an even cleaner state of mind.
£10.99
2. Lean in 15
If over the festive period you have consumed more than your
appropriate portion of turkey with all the trimming and thus
feel the need for a more active diet and lifestyle change then
Joe is on hand to help. Through the combination of quick,
healthy, and easy to prepare meals with the addition of a
constructed workout, your new fitness is on its way. With Joe
at hand this isn’t just a diet book, it’s a ‘How to Guide’!
£14.99
3. The Mindfulness Colouring Book
Following in the footsteps of the massive trend from 2015, is
the development of adult colouring books to help combat the
stress of everyday lives. This book allows you to colour your
stresses and strains away, as is always needed in the dreary
month of January. This is the perfect book to channel the
inner Picasso within.
£8.99
4. Reasons to Stay Alive
There’s always that one book that you’ll remember for the
rest of your life, this is that book. From the personal
perspective of a man who has picked himself up from low
points in life to see the beauty in the world and who inspires
you to see that same beauty too. This book will uplift and
inspire you to start this year happy and joyful; for as long as
you see the joy in life you can also see the inspiring beauty. £ 7.99
DEL Reflects: Black History Month
by Robyn
​
Walking around our campus at Coventry University we are greeted with thousands of multicultural and diverse people. Our international net has engaged many young people to become undergraduates here and we are proud of the cultures and heritages we represent. October is a poignant month in the calendar for many reasons such as Halloween, the confirmation of autumn and importantly, black history month
.
Throughout the month, the nation is bringing awareness to the struggles,
liberation and the successes of black people. The hundreds and hundreds of years that have passed have included painful memories for those affected. The colonisation and enslavement of Africa and the Caribbean. The masters and their plantations, segregation laws, the Civil war, the slow progress, the civil rights movement and the continued problems of black profiling within the judicial and policing system. Although we, as a society, have come far in the war against prejudice, there are still feats to overcome and people to educate. Throughout literature black writers have connected the dots of Black history and its tribulations. Through these many novels, biographies, poetry and much more, society has been opened up to the non-white experience.
With the Faculty of Humanities, within the department of English and Languages there are many modules which cover colonialism, the aftermath and other black histories. Throughout the course the opportunity to study modules on this subject matter is possible. The base module of Colonial Literature presents the chance for students to understand the contexts of books like Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ which presents the common writings of the coloniser’s experience. With the contrasting novel, ‘Iola Leroy’ written by the female African-American writer, Frances Harper. Other modules which explore the black identity, psyche and the oppression people faced, these modules
are Postcolonial Literatures in English and Contemporary African American Literature. Famous novels such as Salman Rushdie’s ‘Midnight Children’ and more obscure narratives to students such as Paul Beatty’s ‘White Boy Shuffle’ are available to read and discuss within the seminars. The department really is commendable for boosting awareness and enthusiasm for learning, especially on this topic.
“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”
― Toni Morrison
